Focus: A Final Fantasy Type-0 One Shot
by pandagirl7878
Summary: MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR FINAL FANTASY TYPE-0! Tempus Finis hath come. While Class Zero attempts to pass through Cid's Crucibles, the newest White Tiger l'Cie traverses Pandaemonium's halls until he is met with his match, a Vermillion Bird l'Cie.
1. Part 1: Rem's Story

**Rem**

When we returned to Akademeia, the entire world was spinning. It felt as if it was going to spiral out of control. I think someone took me to Dr. Arecia's office, because that's where I woke up after passing out in the middle of the courtyard.

On that day, the world changed. All of a sudden, the sky turned red, and the ocean was dyed black.

On that day, Tempus Finis had begun.

Out of the cimmerian seas arose a temple like none the world had seen, from which the Rursus would wreak havoc on all of Orience. The dominion lost contact with all Akademeia division heads, as well as Chancellor Khalia. The l'Cie Zhuyu and Machina both disappeared. Despite having no chain of command, many cadets challenged the marauding Rursus, and died. Akademeia was in utter chaos. Amidst the turmoil, traitorous insiders exposed Code Crimson, disclosing Class Zero's once covert operations. In turn, the surviving cadets held Class Zero responsible for the dominion's downfall. At least, that's what Machina and Arecia told me.

I woke up to a calming vermillion light. I could see the crystal, and I was standing in front of it for a moment. I thought I saw Class Zero walking away from it. I wanted to run to them, but the Crystal was so comforting… and I am a citizen of Rubrum. My allegiance is to the Crystal.

"The choice now goes to thee. Wilt thou become a l'Cie and protect me, the Vermillion Bird?"

A l'Cie, a hero with immense power. If the crystal was asking me, that must mean Zhuyu died. It broke my heart to think such an amazing hero was lost in the battle against the Rursus. There was still so much I wanted to do and see. I couldn't leave yet, I couldn't!

When I opened my eyes, I wasn't weak anymore. I felt like I could do anything. Fire coursed through my veins. Wings of fire to lift the heart. That was what the Vermillion Bird stood for. And out I flew from Dr. Arecia's office and into the vermillion sky. Even though the Crystal wanted me to go to to Pandaemonium, part of me wanted to find Machina. I promised myself that I would, as soon as Tempus Finis was over.

I flew straight into Pandaemonium. The Vermillion Bird told me my Focus was to become Agito, and the only target standing in my way was the White Tiger l'Cie. There he was, with his fancy cape and mask. I didn't know his name at the time of the battle's start. And boy, I wish I had.

"With Lord Zhuyu gone, the Vermillion Bird Crystal sought a new l'Cie, and chose me. The Crystal wants Agito to be born of the Vermillion Bird." My opponent drew his swords. They looked slightly familiar, but I thought nothing of it at the time. "White Tiger l'Cie, stand down!"

We clashed immediately. We didn't care about Pandaemonium, and we destroyed it bit by bit with every attack. I slashed at him first, nearly knocking him to the ground, but he quickly regained his balance. He didn't really seem to fight back... what was with this guy? He wouldn't stand aside and let me pass, but he wasn't fighting with any sort of conviction I'd expect from a White Tiger l'Cie.

After a short period of time, my magic knocked him out of Pandaemonium. I flew far out of the battle field, over the black seas, and struck my opponent the moment he was in range of my attacks. He flew all the way to the wall, and he seemed weakened. I took that opportunity to strike back, and finish him.

Then, his mask fell. I attempted to stop what I was doing, and leave him be, but I was hit by something. I looked down, and saw his sword pierced through my stomach. Well… I guess I failed the Crystal. But the face staring back at me... I instinctively reached towards him. "Machina…"

Guess I didn't have to go and find him anymore. I wouldn't have been able to anyways...

My heart was pounding. I knew that this was the end for me. But I saw him again. He survived the Rursus. That was enough for me. Machina's screams echoed through the ruins. I knew how hard it must've been for him. He was going to forget me. It was a fate neither of us wanted.

"Rem! Rem!" His tears started falling onto my chest.

"Oh, Machina." I tried to smile. All I wanted was Machina by my side until I died. Maybe that would help him remember.

"R-Rem…"

"So glad… you finally came back… my dearest Machina."

"Stop talking. I have-"

"Welcome back… Machina…"

"Rem! I'm sorry… I-"

I really didn't care why he did what he did. Part of me already knew. From the moment he came back to the abandoned house in Lorica, he'd changed. All he cared about was protecting me. But still… my mind drifted to the paths we were placed upon the moment we became l'Cie. "Why did… all of this happen?"

"I was afraid of losing you, Rem, of forgetting you. I was afraid of being alone! So I became a l'Cie."

My vision was slowly fading. Death crept ever closer. Her arms seemed gentle around me, welcoming me into her embrace. But I wasn't ready. I tried to reach for Machina, tell him how I really felt. My hands searched blindly for his face, but I couldn't find it. "Machina? Where are you?"

He grabbed my hands, pulling me back to the living for a few more moments. "Rem, I'm right here."

"Always… remember me…" It was a useless wish, but maybe the Crystals would let him remember. My hands fell away from his face, and the last thing I heard were his cries of anguish as he picked up my body. My soul cried out for him too. He'd lost everything. As did I.

A sweet song echoed through the halls, and a white light enveloped us. For what seemed like an eternity, I dreamt peacefully of simpler times. When Machina and I were children, playing in the village we grew up in, being happy.

Though something was off… I could hear the cries of those closest to me.

"I lost... Sorry, Machina and Rem..." Deuce fell as the spark of light from her flute faded.

Cater dropped her pistol. "This is... as far as we can go. Sorry, guys..."

"I couldn't see it through to the end." Queen's sword clattered on the stone floor. "Sorry, guys..."

"Sorry guys, this is the best I can do." Sice's voice faded away.

Seven tripped. "I wasn't... good enough. Sorry, guys."

"You've become Crystals." Cinque smiled as she fell to the ground. "But you can keep on living!"

They needed my help. Machina, what do we do?

"A future only humans can attain." That's right, Machina. They're still human. If they were given a second chance, would they stop Tempus Finis?

"That is the future you hold." I could see it… countless specks travelling in a spiral.

"After the trials of countless worlds…"

"You all made it."

I looked to Machina, then back at Class Zero, and we knew what they had to do. We helped them off of the ground, and our power went out to them. "To a single future."

Cinque stumbled upwards. "Machy, Remski… Good call! I'll take it! Just leave it all up to Cinque!" I loved her nicknames for us, I did.

After absorbing the Judge's phantoma, Cinque fell, and our souls passed to help Seven. "Machina, Rem… Thanks for the power. I'll be right back! This ends now!"

Seven then passed the torch onto Sice."Ugh, you guys are crazy! I guess I have to do this now! I'm gonna tear you apart!"

"Machina, Rem… I'll use this final power to finish this! We will win!" Queen stood up after Sice fell.

"Really? You guys…" Cater picked up her pistol. "Then I guess I'll have to go for it! You're going down!"

After Cater fell, Deuce stood up, and her flute's magical spark lit back up. "Machina and Rem… Thank you for your power! We won't lose!"

Ace was the last one to fall, and our souls left Class Zero and returned to us. I heard them say something about going home. I was hoping they would be able to make it out alive. After some time, I saw Dr. Arecia.

"You can hear my voice, can't you? Please tell me all about yourselves. Tell me about my children."

She no longer seemed to resent us. We told her the entire story of their trials in Pandaemonium. She smiled at the end, knowing that they would die, but knowing still that they changed their own fates. For over 6 hundred million spirals, Class Zero chose to become l'Cie and fell victim to the crystal, fighting countless enemies until they finally fell in battle. But when Machina chose to become a l'Cie, the cogs began turning for a new future.

"I understand. Then you two shall go forth."

I still had one question left. "Arecia, tell me, did Agito come?"

"Yes, my dears. Agito came to Pandaemonium, and they saved this spiral. Finally, you all can rest."

A white light returned, and I could feel my soul moving onwards. Back to Akademeia. Home.

As we left the temple, Arecia said one last thing to us. "The world will change to one where death cannot be forgotten. So please, I ask that you remember my children."

When we returned to Akademeia, I was horrified. Class Zero, even though they were strong… their bodies laid still on a pile of rubble. The friends we'd come to know were gone. But I could still remember them. And I was for once hopeful. I wouldn't be forgotten.

History left them behind, but we know them. They're right here, in our hearts.


	2. Part 2: Machina's Story

**Machina**

When I left the abandoned house in Lorica, I came upon someone I'd never expected to see. It was Qun'mi, the White Tiger l'Cie who nearly killed Rem and I during the invasion of Rubrum, right before Class Zero saved us. That was the only good thing they ever did.

Qun'mi's MA was destroyed, and she was dying. I thought l'Cie could only die if they fulfilled their focus or were killed after failing it, but she wasn't a Cie'th.

"The White Tiger l'Cie!"

She laughed. "That voice… I remember you, Vermilion Bird." She reached her hand out to me. "The White Tiger Crystal is seeking its next l'Cie. This coincidence had to happen."

"What?"

"Take over my Focus. Become a l'Cie. Do you want to?"

I hated being weak. I hated being a person who needed protection. If I hadn't become a l'Cie, would Rem still have survived? I thought that if I became a l'Cie, she would die just like Izana did, and I wouldn't remember her.

"More than anything. I want a strong body that fears nothing. I want the skills to protect others... to protect Rem! The power of a l'Cie!"

"The mark of a l'Cie is proof that you have been chosen. Do you really wanna be a White Tiger l'Cie?"

"Yeah… I want to!" She touched her hand to my chest. "Grant me the power of a l'Cie!"

Qun'mi disappeared as soon as her magic was transferred to me. Her mask fell to the ground, and I picked it up. My hands seemed colder than ice, but stronger than a glacier. My uniform changed when I put the mask on, and it seemed my powers doubled. No one would stop me from protecting Rem anymore, not even Class Zero. I promised to save her. I swore that I would find out how sick she was, and find a way to cure her.

I did everything the Crystal told me to, even though it sounded like that deranged lunatic, Cid Aulstyne. I fought for it, I killed for it, and I went to Pandaemonium for it. I was crossing the final hall before the judge, when I heard a familiar voice.

"With Lord Zhuyu gone, the Vermillion Bird Crystal sought a new l'Cie, and chose me."

I turned around to see Rem, swirled in Vermillion Fire, and her l'Cie brand glowing like the sun at the end of the day. I didn't want to fight, but the crystal had a different task for me. It told me that my Focus was to defeat the Vermillion Bird l'Cie.

"The Crystal wants Agito to be born of the Vermillion Bird."

I drew my weapon, attempting to hold back the tears. Rem drew hers in response, and prepared a fighting stance.

"White Tiger l'Cie, stand down!"

If I were to become a Cie'th, this is how I wanted to go down. My purpose has been fulfilled. I wanted Rem to win. She was powerful, and knocked the wind out of me towards the end of the battle. I wanted to look up, and see her face one last time, but as my face turned, my mask fell, and I heard the horrifying sound of metal against bone.

"Machina…"

I was too late to lower my weapons, and I…

What have I done? I watched her limp body fall to the floor, unable to move. I rushed to her side as soon as I was able, and held her body close to me. Were those my screams? My tears? Of course they were, no one else was here to witness our battle.

"Rem! Rem!" If I could muster enough power, I could save her, right?

"Oh, Machina."

"R-Rem…"

"So glad… you finally came back… my dearest Machina."

I didn't come back, though. I was trying to become Agito, to save you Rem. I wanted to say that. But the words just didn't come out. "Stop talking. I have-"

"Welcome back… Machina…" She sounded worse than she did when she was sick. I knew that disease of hers was going to take her life at some point, and I thought l'Cie magic could cure her. I was partially right, the Vermillion Bird cured her.

"Rem! I'm sorry… I-"

"Why did… all of this happen?"

I recounted the tales. Incognitus, that's the name I chose. I didn't want Milites knowing who I was, so I made up that lie. It was to protect you, Rem. Do you understand? Do you really understand what I did?

"I was afraid of losing you, Rem, of forgetting you. I was afraid of being alone! So I became a l'Cie."

"Machina? Where are you?"

I reached for her hands, and brought them close to my face. "Rem, I'm right here." I'll always be right here.

"Always… remember me…"

I want to, Rem, but… I screamed her name as her body fell limp away from me. I pulled her close, and wept as I began to recount all of the times we shared. A white light enveloped me, letting me dream about those days forever.

I wanted to keep dreaming. But it seemed like I woke up for a few moments, as Class Zero came through, and fell to that...

Ace was the first to fall. "I'm sorry... I couldn't avenge you."

"I'm sorry... for my disappointing performance..." Trey's shot missed as he collapsed.

"I couldn't avenge your pain." Eight's clenched fists loosened. "I'm sorry..."

Nine's spear crashed into the ground. "Dammit... How lame am I? Dammit..."

"Heh heh... not really our finest hour..." Jack knelt down before his katana slipped from his fingers.

"Toyed with..." King's pistols fell from his now limp hands. "And discarded... pathetic."

Class Zero… I did still resent them for what they did to Izana, but I had the power to do something, right, Rem? And I couldn't let Cid have his way.

I saw two goddesses, spinning an orb around. That was Orience, wasn't it? From below it, I could see countless crystal shards, spiralling downwards. These were the countless cycles Orience has been put through, right? There hasn't ever been an Agito, not yet. I looked into the fate of Class Zero, and in every single one, they became l'Cie. Agito isn't a person, it's…

"A future only humans can attain."

"That is the future you hold."

"After the trials of countless worlds…"

"You all made it."

I looked to Rem, then back at Class Zero, and we knew what they had to do. We helped them off of the ground, and our power went out to them. "To a single future."

King stood up first, picking up his pistols. "You two have gone too far, but I won't hold back. I'll use every bit of this final power! Victory will be ours!"

King fell after stealing a piece of phantoma from the Judge. Jack then stood up and brandished his katana. "If you insist… I guess I have to get serious! I'm gonna end this now!"

"Well, if you insist, hey." Nine spun his spear around as soon as Jack fell. "I'll use this power to kick this guy's ass! I'm gonna crush you!"

Nine's strength faded after stealing phantoma, then Eight cracked his knuckles as he stood back up. "Machina, Rem… Your power will take us to our future! Let's put an end to this!"

Our power passed to Trey after Eight was finished. "Machina, Rem… I will need your power for a brief while! We won't lose!"

Ace's cards reappeared in his hands. He turned towards the bodies of his dead classmates, then looked up at our crystal form. "Machina, Rem… Lend me your strength!" With a similar fire that lit up Rem's eyes when she attacked me, Ace went to take out the Judge. "I'll get you!"

Ace's final attack felled him, and he shattered into the millions of phantoma his Rursus stole, sending the souls onwards towards a glowing gate in the sky. As Class Zero left, a being appeared before us. It was Dr. Arecia. Though I still resented her somewhat too, she was no longer glaring at us like she did whenever we passed her in the halls of Akademeia.

"You can hear my voice, can't you? Please tell me all about yourselves. Tell me about my children."

Words I vaguely remembered said by someone I could no longer remember echoed in my head. "As I see it, you are the final cogs." Someone told all of Class Zero that. It was true. Class Zero chose not to take the destructive power of a l'Cie and protect Akademeia. When the Judge denied them the power to become Agito, we created our own savior. The 14 of us are all Agito, at least I think we are. Arecia, is that what you wanted to hear? She took a puff from her cigarette as she left us.

"I understand. Then you two shall go forth. The world will change to one where death cannot be forgotten. So please, I ask that you remember my children."

I will. I'll remember them, and you, and Rem, and everyone else from now until the end of time.

When we returned to Akademeia, I realized my hope was in vain. Everyone sat underneath a flag made of their vermillion mantles, limp and unmoving. I tried to wake them, but it was no use. At least I could remember them, as Arecia urged us to.

I watched the sun rise. Tempus Finis had come and gone. The people of Orience needed a new light of hope, with the crystals gone. There was so much I wanted to do still. I spent so long studying and training to become a cadet that I had forgotten what it meant to have fun.

A new time has come, to the weak and foolish, to those who endured, to those who made mistakes, to those who fought. A new day has dawned.


End file.
